KUALA LUMPUR: Umno has officially decided to withdraw support from the Perikatan Nasional government with immediate effect, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

       The announcement by Ahmad Zahid came hours after a virtual Umno supreme council meeting that began at 8.30pm on Wednesday (July 7) and stretched till the early hours of Thursday (July 8).

       Ahmad Zahid said the withdrawal of support came because Perikatan Nasional failed to fulfil seven requirements outlined by the Umno secretary when it was sworn in on March 11 last year as the government.

       "The failure to abide by the terms set by the Umno Supreme Council on March 11, 2020, which is 11 days after Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in (as prime minister).

       "To fulfil the unanimous mandate by delegates in the 2020 Umno General Assembly, and based on the seven failures of the government in fulfilling the people's aspirations therefore support towards 'Tan Sri Mahiaddin', as the prime minister, has been withdrawn immediately."

       In the virtual press conference, Ahmad Zahid also urged Muhyiddin to step down as prime minister in order to make way for a new leadership.

       "Umno urges Muhyiddin to step down honourably and allow a new prime minister to be appointed for a temporary period.

       "The newly appointed PM will only focus on efforts to assist the people's welfare during the pandemic, " he said.

       Umno has 38 MPs in the 222-member Dewan Rakyat.

       There was much anticipation over the outcome of the supreme council meeting on Wednesday night, as it came hours after Muhyiddin appointed Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein as Deputy Prime Minister and Senior Minister (Security), respectively.

       However, the Umno president made no mention whether Ismail Sabri and other Umno ministers should quit immediately.

       He said the Umno supreme council had also confirmed the postponement of party polls for a period of 18 months.

       "This is in line with Clause 10 in the Umno Constitution, " Ahmad Zahid added.

       The Umno supreme council meeting also asserts its stance made in the last Umno General Assembly 2020 that it will not support the nomination of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as a Prime Minister candidate or a DAP-Pakatan Harapan led government.

       "The supreme council meeting tonight asserts its stance in the 2020 Umno general assembly, which is never to support any efforts to nominate Anwar as the prime minister or to support a government that is led by Pakatan or DAP."

       Elaborating further, Zahid also said that the Umno supreme council had reviewed several main guidelines set on March 11 to allow the party to give its support to Muhyiddin as the Prime Minister.

       He listed down seven main reasons why Umno could no longer support the the government including the government's alleged failure to fulfil the rakyat's aspiration in managing the Covid-19 pandemic.

       "The failure of the government in managing the Covid-19 pandemic has caused serious anxiety and depression among the people, " he said.

       Others include the inconsistent policies that had led to the ineffective implementation of a lockdown and the misuse of the Emergency Ordinance.

       "For example, a half-baked lockdown had doubled the death toll from 2, 800 to over 5, 000 in only a period of 38 days after the prime minister announced the lockdown.

       "The government clearly failed by abusing the Emergency that is only used for political purposes and it has led to suffering of the people and stagnation in the country's economy."

       Ahmad Zahid also said the government has failed to uphold the welfare of the public, adding that it has led to suicide rates doubling in recent months.

       "There were a total of 1, 099 suicide cases from March 2020 till May 2021, " he added.

       Ahmad Zahid also said the failure of the government to immediately abide by calls from the King and the Malay Rulers to reconvene Parliament was one of the reasons why Umno cannot support Perikatan anymore.

       "As a party that is the main defender of the Malay Royal Institution, as enshrined in Article 3 of the Umno Constitution, Umno cannot compromise with the government's attitude towards the monarchy.

       "Based on the seven terms listed above, I would like to state here that Muhyiddin's government has failed, " he added.